Chapter 237: Awakening
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: Awakening
Craaaang!
The Demonlight Wing's breakthrough swept heavily across the flank. The explosive roar of the shockwave swallowed every other sound.
It was as if a cluster of light had transformed into an artillery shell before detonating. The gathered martial arts army of the Heterodox Sects was torn to shreds.
It was an absolute massacre. The sickening sounds of tearing flesh and shattering bones echoed from all directions. The sheer scale of the impact was terrifyingly vast.
"Aaargh!"
"Gasp!"
The charge itself was a brutal trampling. The blurry silhouettes of swinging arms flickered through the chaos.
A blinding haze of light erupted every time they clashed with the bizarre weapons of the Heterodox Sects.
The cold eyes flashing amidst the shattered blades were enough to send shivers down anyone's spine.
The Demonlight Wing had manifested at near-full strength.
There were three White Ranks and twenty-five Blue-Ranked Experts.
Boom! Splat!
Flesh and blood erupted with gruesome squelches. The ranks of the unorthodox martial artists collapsed in an instant. The strikes of the Vast Art Formula were utterly ruthless.
Fists and swords shot forward, unleashing identical shockwaves. The air was violently swept away, forcing the surrounding brush to flatten. Weapons and corpses were sent flying, scattering everywhere.
Rumble!
The gorge shook. Continuous vibrations rippled in all directions—the aftermath of their thunderous, charging stomps.
After completely piercing through the enemy ranks, they immediately spun around and fell upon them once more. Their movements were terrifyingly fluid.
Their light-shrouded legs trod the ground according to the principles of the Radiant Wing Step. Dust scattered through the gaps in the shockwaves' white light.
The torrent of radiance had practically become a tidal wave.
They swept away those who tried to flee first.
The breakthrough of the twenty-eight was individual, yet unified as one. As they threw consecutive strikes with their full weight behind them, not a single person could block their path.
Flickering movements amidst the clusters of light drew sporadic, unpredictable trajectories.
At the impact points of their swords, fists, and palms, shockwaves exploded without fail, driving the shattered fragments of their opponents' weapons straight into their chests.
In this place, they were practically invincible.
Their opponents were not the elites of the Nine Sects and Eight Great Families, nor those of the Thirteen Heavens. The divine arts linked with the Demonlight Formula or the Flash Art Lineage were more than enough to slaughter them. A single breakthrough was a clean sweep.
The Great Moon Gorge...
...instantly turned into a scene from hell. Pandemonium broke out.
"Are they divine generals from the heavens...?!"
"What... what on earth is that..."
"To think such people exist in this world!"
Those watching the flat ground from the sheer cliffs of the gorge widened their eyes in horror. Some stood paralyzed with their mouths agape.
This reaction came long after the light swords had already manifested. It was only natural.
The unfolding scene felt utterly surreal. Everything, from the initial whistling arrow to the radiant charge, was beyond belief.
Most of the martial artists of Xi'an had gathered with the mindset of watching a public execution. However, this far exceeded their expectations. The sheer violence of it struck them with terrifying force.
"Spare me... cough!"
"Aaargh!"
The unorthodox martial artists, who had been acting so leisurely just moments ago, screamed in agony. Not a single one of them could properly withstand a strike from the Vast Art Formula. This was the unbridgeable gap between a great sect and a mid-sized sect.
The disparity was extreme. With her pitch-black braided hair fluttering, Shin So-bin shattered the ribs of an Exalted Remaining Lands Sect warrior with her fist. It was a short, sharp, and devastatingly heavy blow.
Boom!
"Did you celebrate because you thought you'd win?!"
She shouted boisterously even as she reaped lives. It was a temperament befitting a rising star from a prestigious family of the main fortress.
She was already proficient in the Demonlight Formula and the Infinite Flower of Time Fist. This meant her martial arts synergy was perfectly layered.
Her achievements in the Vast Art Formula were incomparable to those of her seniors. As a White Rank, she had reaped immense benefits.
She had no trouble serving as one of the pillars of the wing-like charge.
Such was the martial prowess of a White Rank. The Blue-Ranked Experts ran rampant alongside her. They took on multiple opponents at once, landing devastating single strikes in rapid succession.
A single sword strike severed three heads, while their palm strikes crushed weapons and flesh alike.
It was indeed an execution. Only, the roles had been reversed. It was an execution of the unorthodox martial artists.
At the very front of the vanguard...
...the sect leaders of the Seven Great Sects of Xi'an stood perfectly still. Despite being the absolute strongest masters of their faction, they could not bring themselves to step forward and protect their subordinates.
With grim expressions, none of them spoke.
They did not dare to charge into the battlefield. They did not even look back.
They merely stood frozen, gripping their weapons, their fine silk robes fluttering in the wind. All seven of them reacted the exact same way.
The person standing before them was the Commander of the Demonlight Wing of the Desolate Fortress.
"……"
Baek Mu-ryang, who had just been lecturing about "influence" and "numbers," was completely lost for words.
His lips, hidden beneath his snow-white beard, went dry. The mouth that had been so eagerly teaching Jeong Yeon-shin the ways of the Jianghu was now frozen shut.
Earlier, he had spoken of the Black Ranks of the Desolate Fortress.
It had been pure mockery. Even though it was a possibility, he hadn't truly believed it. The world was vast, after all.
Just because it hailed in Henan didn't mean a man in Shaanxi would prepare a bamboo hat.
Even knowing that the weather was the same for the whole world, they still behaved this way. Because they were only human.
He had considered the possibility that the youth was not a rogue wanderer but a supreme master with a powerful sect backing him, but there was no other way out regardless.
There was no room to retreat. Fighting to the death was not the exclusive domain of the Orthodox Factions. If anything, it was a virtue more desperately needed by the Heterodox Sects.
What maintained their livelihood even in times of famine was their power and face.
These were prioritized over life itself. They must never show weakness. Such was the world of the unorthodox Jianghu.
"Those... are the Demonlight Wing...? They are using martial arts I've never even heard of..." the Sword Demon Sect Leader muttered, having briefly glanced back.
He was a man in a yellow robe with sharp eyes. Cold sweat beaded on his slender chin.
Yet, possessing the bold courage befitting an unorthodox sect leader, he spoke as if directly addressing Jeong Yeon-shin. He held an extraordinary white precious sword in one hand.
"There are many sects that try to hide behind the name of the Desolate Fortress. That is why your identity does not matter."
"...There were rumors that the new Commander of the Demonlight Wing was extremely young," Baek Mu-ryang murmured.
Even as their subordinates and disciples were dying...
...the sect leaders prioritized their own survival.
An unexpected danger had presented itself. They deliberately spoke aloud, using their years of experience to manufacture a sense of composure.
The most important virtue when facing a supreme master was a state of clear mirror, still water.
One had to sharpen their mind like a sword. If they fell into a blind panic, they would only end up dying a dog's death.
The old man who had ruled the prestigious families of Shaanxi for decades spoke again.
"Have you not essentially thrown us into a net and handed us over, Sect Leader Wi?"
"……"
The Demon-Sprinkling Sword, Wi Il-hwa, did not answer. She merely bit her lower lip.
"It seems we both have our forces," Jeong Yeon-shin said quietly.
His words recalled what the Hwiwol Clan Head, Baek Mu-ryang, had said earlier.
Look here. A fight involving a master without forces... is highly complex and has too many variables to consider. It is on a completely different level from a one-on-one duel. There is no romance of the Jianghu here. No one will blame you if you back down now.
He was throwing back the very words the unorthodox master had uttered.
Baek Mu-ryang's white eyebrows twitched.
"You insolent..."
"Now that things have become simple, stop babbling and come at me."
The Commander of the Demonlight Wing took the starting stance of his fist and palm technique.
Swoosh.
He clenched his right hand into a fist at his waist.
As his left foot stepped forward, scraping against the dirt and stones, his left fist lowered diagonally in front of his thigh. The surrounding brush shook.
Whoosh—
He had reached a realm where even the slightest movement transformed into a release of force. The fine meridians throughout his body, nestled deep within his micro-muscles, were flooded with internal energy.
An invisible wave of energy emanated from his entire body. A faint haze of dust was pushed outward in all directions.
A Black Rank of the Desolate Fortress.
A true master of martial arts stood before the rulers of Xi'an.
"Mmh."
"Is that brat truly..."
The sect leaders groaned inwardly.
There were those who could choke the breath out of you with just their starting stance. The Commander of the Demonlight Wing standing before them was precisely such a being.
The reason they had prolonged the confrontation while their subordinates and disciples were dying became clear. The strikes of supreme masters were extremely perilous.
Life and death were decided in an instant. If they failed to fully comprehend the supreme master before them, they would suffer a fatal wound before even exchanging two blows.
"Sect Leader Wi, have you seen enough?" Baek Mu-ryang asked, keeping his eyes fixed forward.
Wi Il-hwa, Lord of the Exalted Remaining Lands Sect, had mastered the Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision of the Thirteen Heavens' Yeoryeong. It was said to be an unparalleled eye technique passed down through a thousand generations.
It was said that if fully mastered, one could trade blows on equal terms even with an opponent of a higher caliber.
"...It is difficult, but I am watching," Wi Il-hwa replied quietly, suppressing the raging fire in her heart.
The power she had built over many years was being shattered by bastards who might or might not even be the 17th Unit of the Desolate Fortress.
Only the venomous malice unique to the Heterodox Sects remained. She would not be satisfied unless she tore this brat before her limb from limb. They had become sworn enemies upon their very first meeting.
The Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision.
It was a super-ascension divine art. Created by the Lord of Yeoryeong of a distant generation, it was a secret technique that had been continuously refined over countless generations.
Hummm.
A blurry image formed in Wi Il-hwa's eyes. Centered on the figure of the enemy before her, every path he could possibly take in the future appeared as phantom illusions.
The afterimages of the Commander of the Demonlight Wing surrounded his body in overlapping layers.
The illusions shifted slightly here and there. She could guess his forms even before he made a move.
It constantly perceived the subtle changes in his breathing, energy waves, and muscles. Such was the terrifying capability of this peerless eye technique.
It saw through the movements that would follow in advance. It was doing the same now. The strike of this wicked brat was being read before it even began.
She spoke without realizing it.
"His forms are too numerous. So many... that I have never seen anything like it."
At first, she saw six layers.
Even that alone was suffocating.
The Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision was no ordinary eye technique. It was considered a supreme art because its mnemonic filtered out unnecessary possibilities from the very start.
Such was the mental focus and structural integrity of the eye technique's true qi. The number of afterimages forming in her vision adjusted perfectly to the opponent's martial arts energy waves.
This meant the possibilities were reduced to a manageable level. It was a peerless secret technique that offered immense utility to the practitioner and their disciples.
Until now, Wi Il-hwa had never seen anyone in the Xi'an martial world produce more than five afterimages. Even the Hwiwol Clan Head, Baek Mu-ryang, only produced four layers of illusions.
This was why the Moon-Shining Hegemon Art showed exceptionally rapid progress even among evil arts. It was to the point of giving him the appearance of an old man at the age of forty. It was only natural.
If one had three or more options to strike with optimal force in an instant, they were worthy of being the leader of a mid-sized sect.
In terms of martial arts level alone, Baek Mu-ryang was the strongest among the Seven Great Sects of Xi'an's unorthodox factions.
But now...
Fifteen, twenty... thirty-two... no, several times that...?
The power of the Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision flared around her eyes. Even the Zanzhu Point between her eyebrows felt as if it were glowing white-hot.
The more she overheated her Tongziliao Point with internal energy, the more her enemy's afterimages multiplied. It made her doubt the very structure of the eye technique's true qi. In an instant, the number swelled to several hundred.
How on earth was he using his body?
At this point, predicting his moves before he struck was completely meaningless. It meant his very existence was the natural enemy of the Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision.
Was he releasing force from his entire body? If that were truly the case, even calling him a genius would be an understatement.
He was fundamentally different even from the Lord of Yeoryeong, who produced no afterimages at all.
She had never seen anything like this. Was this even reality?
Crazy...!
Just as Wi Il-hwa was floundering in panic...
The Commander of the Demonlight Wing, who was holding his starting stance, furrowed his brow.
"I showed you mercy on your way out."
It sounded like a non sequitur, but to the unorthodox sect leaders, it was different. It was a highly intuitive statement.
It meant he had intended to save their face. If they took the initiative to attack, they might at least look decent.
Before they were helplessly defeated and killed, that is.
"You bastard!"
The Sword Demon Sect Leader roared in fury. His voice was thick with rage.
He began to stride forward alone, carrying an immense presence.
He had passed the limits of his patience. The bastard who had summoned the horde of light swords was truly vicious. With just a few short words, he had delivered a terrifying provocation. He was no less wicked than any member of the Heterodox Sects.
At this point, the state of clear mirror, still water was thrown out the window. It was no longer a matter of measuring the level of their martial arts.
A stomp came first. The Sword Demon Sect Leader slammed his foot down.
Thud!
The force loaded into his foot was tremendous. Thick dust billowed up through the brush.
His sword draw followed immediately. It unsheathed in a long streak of white. Along the blade extending straight from his grip, the afternoon sunlight gathered in shimmering, frost-like patterns.
He swung it outward from his waist. The trajectory of the single sword strike blurred. It moved at a truly terrifying speed.
Fwoooo—
The long breath he exhaled as he delivered the strike was heavy. This meant his internal energy breathing was incredibly deep.
He was well worthy of being called a ruler of Xi'an.
The Shaanxi Sword Demon Sect was highly renowned for its Solitary Radiance Outshines the Sunset Sword Style. It was said to be an extreme killing sword. It was fundamentally different even from the secret techniques of assassins.
It added vicious variations to the fast sword formula. It was a sword move designed to dazzle the eyes with high-level rapid attacks and hack the opponent's body to pieces.
Wi Il-hwa, standing behind him, adjusted her grip on her sword. She watched the strikes of the two figures who were about to clash.
She also noted the energy waves spreading from the feet of the other sect leaders. They had loaded their Body Protection Scripture leaps like artillery shells.
I will watch you closely.
She intended to dissect his forms completely and hack his body to pieces.
The murderous intent of Wi Il-hwa, one of the three great masters of Xi'an, surpassed the hundreds of illusions possessed by her enemy.
There was a way to deal with the enemy. The moment his strike extended even slightly, the number of afterimages would surely plummet.
One could not draw a sword with the same hand that was extending a palm strike. Herein lay their chance of victory.
There were six other masters of equal caliber present. She planned to pierce his openings in accordance with the diminishing afterimages.
She would not just stand by and be defeated. She only needed to operate the Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision in a shorter span of time.
It was a joint attack by seven unorthodox sect leaders. It would be enough to seize that split second.
You bastard, I'll tear you to pieces...!
She pushed the capability of her eye technique to its absolute limit as she focused entirely on her enemy.
His movement was strange. He was placing a hand against the Sword Demon Sect Leader's sword, which was slashing horizontally. His strike was not particularly fast.
Rather, it was strangely slow. For someone with such an immense wave of energy, a lightning-fast strike should have been effortless, even if he had not trained in the fast sword.
At the same time, afterimages rose from his body. This was the image formed in the vision of the Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision.
The illusion of him pressing down on the flat of the blade with one hand pierced her mind according to the eye technique's mnemonic.
Almost simultaneously, his actual movement overlapped with the afterimage. He pressed down on the sword with casual arrogance. It was identical. Such was the terrifying capability of the peerless eye technique.
I've caught him in my sight!
Within that split second, the corners of Wi Il-hwa's mouth began to curl upward.
She calculated his next move in advance. Victory was within reach.
As long as she was not facing him alone, and had six other masters of equal caliber by her side, she—as the Lord of the Exalted Remaining Lands Sect—could lead the unorthodox grandmasters and seize victory.
His next technique is...
An energy wave was spreading from his grip. It seemed he intended to completely push away the Sword Demon Sect Leader's sword.
And then he would draw his sword. The Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision conveyed the exact same prediction. It told her that was his only option from that position.
His balance will falter for a moment. From there, we must strike his lower body. If we explode our full-body internal energy and deliver a single blow, we might take his throat much more easily than expected.
To immediately convey her thoughts, she activated her Sound Transmission Technique.
She had already channeled her internal energy into the fine meridians extending from her tongue to her throat. It was a method to pour out words like a rapid-fire gun within a master's accelerated perception of time.
It was then.
Suddenly, the enemy's hair rippled in long waves. A strangely beautiful shade of pitch-black.
He lowered his stance as if preparing a powerful fist strike. It was a horse stance where his right foot, his left foot, and the Sword Demon Sect Leader's position formed a perfect straight line.
He merely turned his head to look straight ahead. He seemed to be staring directly into the Sword Demon Sect Leader's eyes.
The enemy...
...pressed down on the flat of the blade with his left hand, which he had raised at some point, and extended his right hand forward, spreading his fingers wide.
In that very instant, the enemy's hands fragmented within Wi Il-hwa's hyper-focused vision. The movement was so utterly bizarre that it defied the established logic of martial arts. His hands blurred into countless afterimages, resembling the frantic, fluttering wings of a moth caught in the reflection of a stark, blinding light. These phantom limbs multiplied in a fraction of a second, swaying and overlapping in a mesmerizing, chaotic dance.
Wi Il-hwa felt a cold dread coil in the pit of her stomach. Had her Dark Movement Time-Transcending Vision somehow glitched? Her perception of time should have been absolute, yet the visual information feeding into her brain made no sense. The scene playing out before her was a phenomenon that should only ever be visible when a martial artist stood in a completely natural, relaxed state just a hairsbreadth before launching a strike. To see it manifested like this signified a terrifying truth: this man had stepped into an entirely new realm of martial possibilities.
There was simply no other way for her to interpret the sheer impossibility of his movements. His initial starting stance, which she had analyzed so carefully, held absolutely no meaning. It was a terrifying realization. It meant that no matter what physical posture he adopted, his body remained in a flawless, natural state of readiness. Every angle was a perfect origin point for slaughter.
The moment an invisible, terrifying wave of energy rippled outward from his left hand—which was still pressing down with deceptive lightness upon the flat of the blade—the world seemed to hold its breath.
Craaaack!
The deafening sound of shattering steel tore through the air. The Sword Demon Sect Leader's prized blade, caught in the grip of that overwhelming internal energy, instantly exploded into dozens of jagged metallic pieces.
Just as the brilliantly gathered sunlight reflecting off the steel crumbled into a shower of glittering dust, the enemy thrust his right hand directly toward the epicenter of the destruction. A tremendous, suffocating repulsive force violently swirled from the very center of his palm, distorting the air itself.
Boom!
The explosion of force echoed with a short, devastatingly powerful crack. The shattered fragments of the ruined sword did not simply fall to the earth; they were caught in the torrential gale of his palm strike and propelled forward like shrapnel from a cannon. They shot in a perfectly straight, inescapable trajectory right toward the Sword Demon Sect Leader's exposed abdomen.
It was a chilling, awe-inspiring sight. It looked as though his palm technique was physically dominating the very space around them, bending every single grain of scattered sunlight to his absolute will.
The enemy extended his hand through the destruction, his eyes flashing with a terrifying, predatory light. In that split second, the sheer, unadulterated shock of the martial display violently shattered Wi Il-hwa's extreme concentration, brutally ripping her out of her accelerated perception of time.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The sickening sound of metal burying itself into flesh rang out in rapid succession. The jagged fragments of the shattered sword embedded themselves entirely into their former master. The Sword Demon Sect Leader's upper body convulsed violently, thrashing backward as the kinetic force of the shrapnel tore through his internal organs. He spasmed with immense, uncontrollable intensity, his feet leaving the ground for a brief, agonizing moment.
And then, it was over.
"Ugh..."
A single, pitiful groan escaped his lips. The Sword Demon Sect Leader collapsed, his body hitting the blood-soaked earth with a heavy, dull thud.
The battlefield behind the vanguard was a chaotic hellscape of loud screams, dying wails, and the thunderous sounds of clashing shockwaves. Yet, despite the deafening roar of the surrounding war, the sound of the Sect Leader's fall was exceptionally, horrifyingly clear to Wi Il-hwa. A belated cloud of dust lazily rose from the ground, slowly enveloping the Sword Demon Sect Leader's motionless body like a burial shroud.
It was a sight of such absolute devastation that it commanded an eerie, suffocating silence in its immediate vicinity.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly turned his head, his cold gaze landing squarely on Wi Il-hwa. His eyes did not just look at her; they dissected her. His gaze swept with surgical precision over the vital acupoints mapped across her face and neck, assessing her as nothing more than the next target. A vivid, crackling flash of blue lightning flickered deep within the starkly contrasting black-and-white of his pupils. It was a dreadful harbinger of the violence yet to come.
"I suppose you didn't see this coming?"
The Commander of the Demonlight Wing asked quietly, his voice cutting through the battlefield's din like a perfectly honed blade.